Kevin Kim of the United States returns a shot to Sebastien Grosjean of France in their match Tuesday. Kim led, 1-0, in the second set when rain halted the match.

Journal photo / John Freidah

 NEWPORT – Getting the second round of the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships underway proved to be an exercise in futility. Mother Nature just did not want to cooperate on Tuesday, ultimately forcing the cancellation of play.

The problems began when a dense fog hanging over the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the morning left a heavy coat of dew on the grass courts.

A brief rain shower then passed through, forcing the matches to be postponed for 2 1/2 hours.

Play got underway at 1:30 p.m., only to be suspended again by another rain delay 32 minutes later.

The shower again lasted only briefly, and head groundskeeper Dan Robillard’s crew was back on the courts with walk-behind blowers attempting to dry out the grass.

Play resumed an hour and 20 minutes later, but the rain soon returned – much heavier this time and accompanied by thunder and lightning. At that point, the decision was made to suspend the matches until Wednesday.

Needless to say, no matches were completed Tuesday. Sebastien Grosjean had taken the lead in his match against American Kevin Kim, winning the first set, 6-4.

On Court 1, Philipp Petzschner of Germany won his first set, 6-4, against Horacio Zeballas of Argentina, but was trailing Zeballas, 4-3, in the second set.

On Court 2, Samuel Groth of Australia won his first set, 7-5, against Ricardo Mello of Brazil, but was behind, 3-0, in the second set.

Different strokes

How did Sam Querrey pass the time during the rain delay? By playing golf, of course. Wearing a black and yellow flannel shirt, the 6-foot-6 Southern Californian headed over to the practice courts yesterday afternoon, not to work on his serve or his backhand, but to sharpen his putting skills.

Joined by high school friend and intern Dan Farrugia, Querrey converted his tennis racket into a golf club.

“It was a little golf-tennis game we made up,” the 21-year-old said. “We’d hit the tee shot and have to putt out from there. I kind of played with James (Blake) in Rome. The last time we had one clay court, but today we had a nice big field. It was pretty fun.”

Querry said he and Farrugia played 18 holes. Who won? Querry, by one stroke.

Moment of silence

Prior to the start of Tuesday’s matches, a moment of silence was observed for 24-year-old French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt, who was found dead by his girlfriend in the stairwell of his Paris apartment.

“It was terrible,” Grosjean said of the news of his fellow countryman. “He was a wonderful kid, 24 years old, in good shape. He was [ranked 119th] in the world. . . . . When someone called me this morning and told me he passed away last night, I was shocked. I talked to him about four or five days ago.”

U.S. hooks Fish

Mark Stenning says it didn’t come as a complete surprise when he heard that Mardy Fish had withdrawn from the Newport tournament to play on the U.S. Davis Cup team.

At Wimbledon last week, the CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and director of this week’s tourney was speculating like everyone else as to whom U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe would extend invitations.

Stenning hadn’t anticipated a spot opening up on the U.S. team as a result of Andy Roddick withdrawing (because of an injured right hip flexor), but wondered if James Blake’s early exit from Wimbledon might prompt McEnroe to consider other players.

With the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Championship boasting one of the strongest fields in recent memory, including Fish and fellow Americans Jesse Levine and Querry, Stenning wondered if one of them might get the call from McEnroe.

 “It’s a good thing for tennis. . . . . .and I think it’s a good thing for Mardy to be there, particularly if Andy couldn’t,” Stenning said Tuesday. “Mardy’s been incredibly loyal since he was 17 years old to this tournament. The right place for Mardy Fish is Croatia, playing for America.”

Tuesday tickets good Wednesday

Because play was suspended yesterday, ticketholders for Tuesday’s session will be able use those same tickets for admission to Wednesday’s session which begins at 11 a.m.

Tickets are still available for this week’s tournament, which continues until Sunday. They may be purchased online at http://www.tennisfame.com/ or by calling (866) 914-FAME.

cthorn@projo.com